Jim Trotter thinks it's unwise to dismiss rumors that Jim Harbaugh could end up coaching the Longhorns.

Bill Barnwell dissects the roster moves that turned around the Panthers.

Surprisingly, Julius Thomas actually ranks #9 among tight ends in pass blocking efficiency, while Virgil Green unexpectedly ranks all the way down at #30.

Maths

Pete Carroll apparently needs the benefit of historical precedent to understand why it would have been better for his Seahawks to have let the Niners score a late touchdown on Sunday, so Chase Stuart provides him plenty of it.

Doug is IAOFM’s resident newsman and spelling czar. Follow him on Twitter @IAOFM

IDK how in the hell they can justify Lenon on the field in any capacity whatsoever at this point. I also didn't see any game vs Tennessee that made me forget about Woodyard either. I don't know what they'll do ...but if I see them start Lenon again I'm giving up on any hope in the post season. They can try something else now.. They tried Lenon and it sucked.

Posted by heykyleinsf on 2013-12-14 00:38:07

There are going to be some nights when we don't score 51 points. Just realistically.Sure this is definitely on all three phases plus coaching.. but the defense is more frustrating because of the ongoing ineptitude. Defense hasn't won a game for us all year. The offense has won 11 of them.

Posted by heykyleinsf on 2013-12-14 00:08:29

I agree outside if the NE game where he looked great. Why'd he feel the need to put on all this weight and muscle in the offseason. Why? Why tf do you fix something that ain't broken. Von was about flexibility and speed. I just don't get it. Of course he could just be in a slump who knows.

Posted by Broncologist on 2013-12-13 23:30:21

don't forget Champ

Posted by VonSwenson on 2013-12-13 22:44:45

McCoy knew us a few weeks ago and SD held the ball 38 mins. in that game. Difference was offense moved ball in that game. Either way Denver's coaches should have seen it coming last night and prepared a much more aggressive game plan.

Posted by Uncle Rico on 2013-12-13 22:37:04

Truth. Inexcusable penalty. Irving and Jeff Rodgers are morons.

Posted by Uncle Rico on 2013-12-13 22:33:43

While that's a damn good point.. points isn't the point..Time of possession... nearly 40 to 20 miinutes..drives that take forever and 3rd downs that are neverstopped. Give us half the time.. we win.. every time.but not giving the ball was the Chargers game plan.Everyone in the NFL respects our offense..we only lost two games.. but now...our defense is exposed. It looked like Mike McCoy knew us far too well..and introduced the rest of the league how to beat us.

Posted by heykyleinsf on 2013-12-13 22:28:38

After all the complaints about how bad the defense played allowing 27 points to the Chargers, I'd like to point out the defense has averaged 26.5 points allowed this season. Yes, this was (sadly) an average defensive outing. In contrast, the offense put up only 20 points, almost 2 standard deviations less than their season average. Blame where blame's due -- the offense came out with a generic game plan that relied upon Manning to run the standbys, while McCoy had the Chargers game planned to perfection.

Posted by DCJ1 on 2013-12-13 22:11:58

When it rains it pours:

Vic Lombardi ‏@VicLombardi9h

Got word Rahim Moore will have follow-up surgery on his leg. Not sure what it means to his availability in January.

Posted by AldenBrown on 2013-12-13 20:44:56

Irving costed the team 7 minutes of play time on a dumb neutral zone infraction on 4th down.

Posted by Random Anonymous Coward on 2013-12-13 20:21:56

Irving has to be better than Lenon. I still vote for a swap of Woody to Will and Trevathan to Mike.

Posted by Uncle Rico on 2013-12-13 20:07:39

Oh Animal House. :walks away in shame:

Posted by WrathofChakaKhan on 2013-12-13 18:10:16

You must be too young to remember Bluto Blutarsky.

Posted by Alaskan on 2013-12-13 18:08:24

We should make a beer commercial about it...like the guy who helps the Broncos score when he goes to the basement.

Posted by Brian M. Jacobson on 2013-12-13 18:00:23

Uh..what history course did you take? Lol

Posted by WrathofChakaKhan on 2013-12-13 18:00:00

I'm not really forgetting that, but in general, the big boys control the vast majority of the market, although fragmented it may be. That said, I think you're right from one angle: DirectTV represents a single entity where the league, being the control freaks they are, can impose their brand as they see fit. Negotiating with multiple entities is both messy and requires more administrative overhead to establish and maintain consistency.

Posted by SteveS on 2013-12-13 17:55:30

It wasn't over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor and it's not over now.

Posted by ohiobronco on 2013-12-13 17:55:21

Is he really? Wow. The guy is obviously a player, I was hoping we were going to pick him up when he was available... too bad.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-12-13 17:52:58

I just don't see why they don't put Nate Irving in as MLB. That's what he was drafted for. He played well early in the season. He grades out better than either Lenon or Woodyard according to PFF.

Posted by tunesmith on 2013-12-13 17:51:25

Tom Brady never should have been MVP, even in 2007 and 2010. He had numbers because of elite players like Gronk, Hernandez, Welker, and Moss.

Posted by John on 2013-12-13 17:23:00

Yep. And the guys here (Doug and TJ at least, I think) have scoffed when it's been brought up. But he quite simply looks bigger and slower than he did last year. I'm also not seeing the strength improvement that was supposed to come with the added muscle.

But you're right, he does seem to be engaging tackles as opposed to running around them like he used to.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-12-13 17:08:41

It's a blur of getting stomped badly by the Colts in the playoffs

Posted by Snipe on 2013-12-13 17:05:44

and thus you caused it. Thanks a lot

Posted by Snipe on 2013-12-13 17:03:05

I said this on the Gut Reaction thread, but I'll repeat it here. I echo your sentiments on Von. He's still a great player, and he still makes a few great plays every game, but he doesn't seem to be the transformative force he was last year.

I'm just seeing him locked up with his man seemingly far more often this year... Wonder if he's trying new things, if he is just a hair slower than he was, or - gasp - if he has some kind of injury we don't know about.

Posted by The_Outlaw1984 on 2013-12-13 16:03:29

Moore, Wolfe, Vick, healthy woodyard...

Posted by Truman Jensen on 2013-12-13 15:59:49

I know he hasn't been fabulous since that injury, but he was kick-ass earlier in the season, right? I mean, he still passes the eye test for the most part.

It really is just a weird situation. And sad. Very sad. All the sads.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-12-13 15:44:15

The sad thing is that Elway did bring in Rod Smith to address the team just the other day. And this is how they responded.

Posted by AldenBrown on 2013-12-13 15:39:20

Andrew Mason mentioned on Twitter last week that Woodyard and Ihenacho were the Broncos lowest graded starters by PFF. Woodyard is -7.1 on the season, and Duke is -7.2. However, given that Woodyard is a defensive captain, an inspirational team leader, makes the defensive calls, and has Paris Lenon as a backup, I hardly think that benching him makes sense.

I was thinking about walking away but the only thing keeping me was I was curious to see just how bad it could get. I don't mind so much the loss but the way that we lost. It got to the point that I felt like if we were going to lose anyway I wanted it to be by enough that is was embarassing to the team. I didn't want them to score late meaningless points so that it appeared closer than what it really was.

Posted by IDBronco on 2013-12-13 15:14:30

Sorry not clear there. The quality of the stream is the problem I was talking about. A buffering horrible quality picture is typical with sunday ticket max. As is losing the signal all together for stretches at at time. I can usually get a better picture out of first row sports than direct tv Sunday Ticket Max.

Posted by Banjo on 2013-12-13 15:09:35

Arizona. He is currently leading the league in tackles.

Posted by IDBronco on 2013-12-13 15:08:46

Where is dansby starting now?

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2013-12-13 15:02:23

DT has zero to due with following the ball. That is the camera angles and directors of fox CBS Direct TV only takes their feeds and reboardcast them.

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2013-12-13 14:58:46

One thing to keep in mind is that the last 4 Superbowl winners all lost in week 15 of those years. Not saying we needed to lose this game but last year we coasted into the playoffs. We desperately need some guys to get healthy on defense and I sure as hell hope Del Rio/Fox know what they are doing with this "experimentation". I am hoping they actually have a plan in mind and aren't just throwing shit against the wall.

Posted by IDBronco on 2013-12-13 14:58:14

I'm also in the pro-Holliday camp, though I completely understand those who aren't. I do like to watch him set up his returns, just knowing what potential there is for excitement. He's got such zip compared to everyone else on the team. Now that he's got a post-injury game under his belt, I think next game he's going to do some good things... assuming Rodgers can get Special Teams' ass in gear.

Posted by carsonic on 2013-12-13 14:46:24

I'm not in the habit of begging the IAOFM guys for specific articles, but I'm sincerely curious and concerned about the benching of Woodyard. He was the most important defensive player on the field for 12-13 weeks this year, and now he's being benched in favor of a guy who can't play dead in a western.

If there's ANY light you guys can shine, it would be greatly appreciated.

Posted by SammyDEEEEEE on 2013-12-13 14:29:42

It feels like it's been about 7 or 8 games since he's had a really great return. He had one pretty good one yesterday out to the 34 or 40. Other than that, he can't even catch the ball to get a return going. Did you notice him bobble just about every kickoff he tried to catch in the endzone?

The kid has terrible hands and is a risk to fumble every time he touches the ball. He has no positional sense and awareness while fielding punts and/or trying to fair catch.

If it were me, he would have been out the door a long time ago.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-12-13 14:28:43

I don't see pulling a guy like Woodyard.. who is enormously popular in that locker room... and at the same time.. a sign of thinking he's immune to culpability as a coach.. as a way to rally this team on the defensive side of the ball. Del Rio is not leading. He's hiding.I said this on another thread... Del Rio is a great coach, and the silver lining is that now.. we'll likely keep him. I don't see him getting a prestigious NCAA gig now, and the idea that he will coach another NFL team at this point is laughable at best... it looked like he was leaving before.. now not so much.He is a good coach.That's why it's so frustrating that he is doing a suckass job.

Posted by heykyleinsf on 2013-12-13 13:54:05

One thing you are forgetting is cable companies tend to be fairly regional. So having an exclusive agreement with anything but a satellite company further alienates a good portion of the viewing audience.

On a side note, anyone know what the NFL app on XBOX ONE provides? Is it an alternative to Sunday ticket?

Posted by Truman Jensen on 2013-12-13 13:52:10

Im arguing it's too late

Posted by WrathofChakaKhan on 2013-12-13 13:51:10

On the mental errors, must agree that goes to coaching. By this time in the season a Championship team should be clicking. Of course, we aren't seeing the Broncos defense, we get the back up defense I guess with over half the starters out...and where did this JV special teams unit come from? Ugh....at this moment, they don't seem to deserve the home field in the playoffs - much as it pains me to say it...

Posted by denverkewl on 2013-12-13 13:46:08

I walked away too...to play a video game and listen on the radio. For some reason, just listening to the play-by-play made it easier to digest.

That is, except for when we got within 7 and got the ball back...then I went back to the t.v. and got to watch the INT in living color. "Never should have left the radio," I thought to myself...

Posted by Brian M. Jacobson on 2013-12-13 13:43:19

It was painful enough for me to get up and walk away, I just could not stand the gaffes especially the beyond dumb fair catches inside the ten.. IIRC a couple back on the five or so.. hell get out of the way fade to the other side and draw the folks that may down it inside the five and hope we get a bounce.. Better than a FOR SURE on the 5..

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2013-12-13 13:37:55

I do not remember a bronco team that has not made mental gaffes like those last night.

While I do not watch loads of NE, PIT, SEA or BAL games the ones I have I rarely see these teams FUBAR it or for the matter not be mentally up for the upcoming team.

Over the years how many trap games have we lost? heavily favored and lose by 30. how many of them have put 40 points on us?

Frankly I do not remember any of our teams being mentally tough.. none of them that have run the score up on another team..

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2013-12-13 13:34:26

just finished ROTFLMAO at Jim Rome's show this morning..How it's all Peyton's fault.. how he should have the grace to retire.. etc.On behalf of California... my apologies for that dipshit.

Posted by heykyleinsf on 2013-12-13 13:34:05

I think that few fan understand how young this team really is.. Almost all of the starters have been in the NFL under 6 years.. if they have more than 6 years most did not start a lot of games before coming here

Manram 7 years but how many games started.. Ayers 5 years benched for many of those years..Beadles 4

DUKE 2Miller 3 missed how many games due to being dumb and injured.Moreno 5 but then how many starts?DT 4JT 3 stated less the 12Danny T 3Vasquez 5WW 6, 1 year as a starterWolfe 2

Williams r just a few games played.

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2013-12-13 13:22:00

I thought that was the year where seeding meant nothing, we beat the Colts (maybe with Manning not playing the whole game) then got our butts kicked by like 40 points just the next week or so

Posted by Snipe on 2013-12-13 13:10:36

I've been reminded of the 1997 team also. Probably because we lost in the playoffs in 1996 when we should have beaten Jacksonville and the chiefs were good. If we end up losing the division and being the #5 seed, I will know it's destiny to win the superbowl.

Posted by Snipe on 2013-12-13 13:08:06

I think they peaked the first year a bit early and had loads of pressure for an undefeated season and to lose on what I think was a fluke play at the end of the game. I can see where they were a lesser team the next week..

They still should not have been in the position for that pass into the back of the EZ to matter but it did..

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2013-12-13 13:04:50

I'm not so sure ANY of the coaches trusted Manning and his minions last year to pull our feet out of the fire.. I susepct that they "just" were not quite sure of his ability to get all the skill players as well as the OL fine tuned as fast as he has done..

This year they are pretty much on a different level than they wer elast year and FRANKLY IMO they were not all that bad then..

Remember that PM did not have his indy squad fine tuned until later in his stay there while he had a few Receivers within his mind set with the winks and nods it took them some time to get that way..

We still see DT getting the evil eye from time to time.. So I can see why Fox may have been conservative last year.. IN FACT I'll bet everyone was surprised that Fox went for 4th downs last week, it seems like he is finally coming around..

Posted by Lonestar47 on 2013-12-13 13:01:49

I don't necessarily have anything against Irving but he is what he is. He is a backup/special teams guy. Elway seemed to really be counting on him at the Mike spot this past offseason with only Bradley as insurance. With this team in a win now mode I just don't understand why they didn't look at Dansby when he was out there for so long.

Posted by IDBronco on 2013-12-13 12:52:35

I feel like even on offense there are times when we have been shooting ourselves in the foot this season. We are good enough on offense to make up for these lapses though. That is my biggest frustration with last night. It wasn't the loss in itself at all but the lack of mental toughness that bothers me. If it was the only time that it has happened I would just chalk it up to a Thursday night game and those things happen. Granted I have never seen us do it so completely across the board like last night but it concerns me that this team isn't tougher mentally. I am just hoping that last night serves as a wake up call at the perfect time and we correct the problems in time for the playoffs. That is the only silver lining that I can see that could come from this game. We have plenty of time left but we really need some guys to get healthy on defense.

Posted by IDBronco on 2013-12-13 12:44:58

Elway bet the farm on Nate Irving. Should be interesting to see what Elway's wrath looks like in the offseason. Irving should have another year on his contract, but I think he'll spend it elsewhere... I sure hope Irving studied hard in college. He's going to be an average joe real soon...

Posted by toomanyrappers on 2013-12-13 12:41:00

And that's been my gripe all along. The defense has just made things too easy.

You know what I want to see? I want to see our corner's get down and dirty, get up to the line and man up some receivers. Disrupt them. Something.

Something seems off with Von too. I tend to watch him a lot because I'm enamored by his talent, but he's not the same freak of nature he was last year. I can tell when Von is feeling it and really getting after the passer when he gets that crouch stance going and he looks like a big cat about to pounce. He bends at the knees and hunches down, timing the snap to perfection. I've seen it a handful of times this season, but for the most part he's very slow (compared to what we're used to seeing) getting off the line. And without that initial burst he quite simply goes from an elite pass-rusher to just a very good one.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-12-13 12:36:20

The finer points, the details as Doug calls them in his excellent introductory opinion, are what make all the difference in the end. That´s something coaches have to emphasize, and our staff has been consistently a bit lacking this year in that regard on defense and special teams. Let´s hope, indeed, that last night serves as the best of wake-up calls for the Broncos. If they gain the edge that´s needed there, we´ll stop defeating ourselves, which is really what this team has to do to be in business against anybody.

Posted by Goéland on 2013-12-13 12:34:58

Does anyone remember those missed blocks? Because if 1 was on DeMarcus Ware, indeed, it´s more on the playcalling and less on him than if it was against Erik Walden.

Posted by Goéland on 2013-12-13 12:19:21

Put Trevathan in the middle and move Woody back to the Will?

Posted by Uncle Rico on 2013-12-13 12:17:50

Yea I meant to put last year against the Ravens. Was not a well thought out sentence. Charger needed a win and then went and got it. I am old school superstitious, I worried about winning eleven games in a row with in the division, sooner or later they go against you. Charger have a good history with beating Peyton. Pagano brothers have his number.

Posted by akatom3565 on 2013-12-13 12:12:05

Small sample size compounded by not factoring in what pass rushers he faced equal small differenes in percentages that reflect misleadingly large in rankings.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-12-13 12:09:26

I am thinking you meant to say the Ravens game? This game kind of reminded me of that game in general. That game had a weird vibe for me from the getgo. I just felt like we were the better team fairly easily but were outcoached and outplayed that particular day. Last night the whole team just wasn't ready to play. It was like they just didn't mentally show up and mailed it in. I have to put that 100% on the coaching staff. Sure it was a short week but it was for SD also and they had to travel on top of all that.

Posted by IDBronco on 2013-12-13 12:07:29

The injury situation over the course of the season made things look a lot different than it did over the summer. I wanted to load up with guys like Abraham and Dansby and take a shot, but everybody here was telling me Robert Ayers was going to step up and supply Dumervil's missing pass rush. Didn't happen. The last quarterback he got near was Romo.

Anyway, why compound the mistake of the missed opportunities over the summer by being trigger shy at the deadline? If anything they had a chance to rectify their error and they passed it up at a time when their resources were depleted.

That third rounder is going to make us all feel really great if we're picking it from the 29th draft slot.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-12-13 12:07:14

Just a note on that pass blocking rating article: their threshold is too low (which the author recognized in the comments). Based on the snaps he´s had, Virgil Green is where he is because of 2 missed blocks. Had he missed 1 less (which is not statistically significant), he´d instead be in the top-10 pass blocking TEs in the NFL. The idea behind the article is nice, but as long as they don´t modify their criteria for inclusion, it´s practically worthless.

Posted by Goéland on 2013-12-13 12:05:10

Totally agree, and I think at least part of it is not having the Captain and emotional leader of the defense (a guy who's been called "the best leader I've ever played with" by Vickerson) on the field. PARIS LENON IS NOT GOOD. That is a fact, and it is indisputable.

Posted by SammyDEEEEEE on 2013-12-13 12:04:15

I'd love to see Rod Smith go in and talk to the team, specifically the receivers, about how not to be a total ghost in the gameplan.

Posted by SammyDEEEEEE on 2013-12-13 12:02:22

Even when Virgil has been in lately he seems to struggle with blocking not sure why that is though

Posted by akatom3565 on 2013-12-13 12:01:33

Right, Jared Allen would have helped right about now. It would have cost a 3rd or 2nd rd. pick... but they could have signed Abraham in free agency (on a reasonable deal) w/o losing any draft picks.

Posted by Uncle Rico on 2013-12-13 12:01:25

Injuries on defense is hurting this team right now. I think we are seeing that Moore means more to this team than we knew.

Posted by akatom3565 on 2013-12-13 12:00:44

The team also needs to get V. Green on the field more in running situations. While Thomas is a big mismatch on passing plays, his blocking is not good.

Posted by Uncle Rico on 2013-12-13 11:59:04

I'm disagreeing on Holiday. For me the benefits out weigh the risks but the two sides are getting closer. I'd rather have someone who is a risk to score but makes mistakes than the list of 2 and 3 yard returners Shanny had at the end.

Wonder if we could change the rules and somehow get Peterson from the Cards for a 7th rounder. That'd solve a couple of problems.

Posted by Mike Birtwistle on 2013-12-13 11:58:26

Hate to do it but Elway deserves some of the blame for this situation. He thought Nate or Steve could handle the middle but they could not. Wesley is too small to play in the middle, especially once Vickerson went down. Now they are left with a bunch of less than ideal options for the 2nd year in a row.

Posted by Banjo on 2013-12-13 11:57:51

We have no choice but to live with the defense. I however am tired of seeing this passive crap come out ever couple of games. I had really thought we had seen a change over the last few weeks as far as being what you are, but last night just reminded me of last January, the last half of the Pats game this year.

Posted by akatom3565 on 2013-12-13 11:57:09

Hopefully the NFL is going to require directTV to improve the online product (max). It is embarrassingly bad. I have trouble seeing if a pass is complete half the time.

Posted by Banjo on 2013-12-13 11:55:06

No surprise there, but the whole situation remains so completely baffling I´m just hoping there really is a larger plan at stake. What I can confidently say is that no defense in the NFL is better with Bolden and Lenon on the field than with Woodyard and Duke, even though the latter need to play better at times.

Posted by Goéland on 2013-12-13 11:54:09

The barrage of injuries on defense is why I wanted to see the Broncos make a move at the trade deadline to improve the roster. They declined to acquire an impact defensive player and their reasoning was sound enough, but I'm of the opinion you should do everything possible to maximize your chances while your window of opportunity is open.

Posted by Yahmule on 2013-12-13 11:51:42

The Pro Football Focus game review is up. Here's what they had to say about Paris Lenon:

Ineffective Second Start

Nominally a starter now for the Broncos (he plays less than 50% of Denver’s defensive snaps) Paris Lenon didn’t carry his solid form from Sunday against the Titans forward to this divisional encounter. A strong play against Nick Hardwick early in the second quarter was isolated amid an ineffective display which also featured a missed tackle and plenty of plays where he failed to shed blocks. On the Chargers’ first play from scrimmage he was unable to scrape over the pile to Ryan Mathews adjusting the rush off left end breaking upfield for an 18-yard gain to kick start the San Diego offense on the night. Elsewhere he was sealed by linemen and tight ends alike with his missed tackle coming against Ronnie Brown late in the third quarter. Wesley Woodyard was certainly struggling as a three down linebacker and the Broncos needed to make a change, whether moving to Lenon is a change in the right direction remains to be seen but history would suggest it’s one of the few ways they could have got worse at middle linebacker.

Absolutely would rather lose being agressive (on both sides of the ball). Last night there was no urgency on offense especially... it was evident early that the running game wasn't working (SD did a nice job vs. Denver in SD so that should have been a clue as to how they had to plan for the rematch) so why not be more agrssive with the pass?

Posted by Uncle Rico on 2013-12-13 11:46:23

I just read the article and what argument does he give to support Brady over Manning? Absolutely nothing besides points scored versus points given up. How in the hell does Manning or Brady have any control over how many points their defenses give and so why would this be used as the only criteria to support Brady? That has got to be the most idiotic article I have ever read.

Posted by IDBronco on 2013-12-13 11:44:50

That site is part gossip part comedy channel with some of what they come up with.

I know the 3rd down you were referencing but really there were a ton of big 3rd down conversions we gave up. How many times did they punt? I am thinking 3? I know SD is one of the better teams on 3rd downs but we made it easy on them.

Posted by IDBronco on 2013-12-13 11:39:11

The game last night reminded me a lot of this game which I saw in person:

The situation was almost identical. Manning's Colts came in with 11 wins and were playing for seeding. The Broncos were playing for a playoff spot. The Broncos ran it down their throats and held the ball for something like 45 minutes and basically never gave Peyton a chance.

Posted by ohiobronco on 2013-12-13 11:38:21

Pass rush has been stagnant lately, no doubt. Completely unimpressed with JDR lately. I know he tried to bring pressure from some different areas yesterday, but he overall seems to be dialing up ineffective blitzes and is unable to find a way to get consistent pressure. And don't even get me started on his coverage concepts. Also, on that huge 3rd down play that Gates converted that pretty much hosed us (on of many)... that was atrocious. We had to rushers standing up right over him who both rushed and let him release and we had no one on the back-end to pick him up. That's simple, easy coverage assignments being blown at an alarming rate. Not. Good.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-12-13 11:35:30

Who said that the NFL hasn't rec'd competitve bids? Maybe they've decided that DirecTV is the best highest bidder - curerntly they are paying over $1B per yr. for the exclusive rights.

Posted by Uncle Rico on 2013-12-13 11:32:40

Regarding the Sunday Ticket renewal with DirectTV - you've got to be kidding! You're going to tell me that the NFL can't get a competitive bid on this from the large cable franchises throughout the country? I'm just amazed that Verizon FIOS, Comcast, Time-Warner, etc. can't or won't bid this as a pay-per-view package of sort in a way that would easily trump DirectTV. Perhaps others with more knowledge on that market can set me straight here.

Definite lack of passion last night as the Chargers looked like they had more to play for.

Posted by SteveS on 2013-12-13 11:19:06

I agree on Webster. His coverage was generally very good, and Rivers simply put the ball in the perfect place or the receiver made a great catch. To my untrained eye, the problem lay elsewhere last night (pass rush comes to mind first).

Posted by Brian M. Jacobson on 2013-12-13 11:18:34

Agreed, and perhaps especially on defense. In fact, for all of my frustrations with Big Vick's boneheaded penalties a few weeks back, one of the things I liked was the attitude and swagger he brought to the defense. He just played with a bit of a nasty streak that was infections.

Right now, we're playing in a way that looks a bit too cerebral to me. Al Wilson, where art thou?

Posted by Brian M. Jacobson on 2013-12-13 11:16:32

Well I guess one positive is that Manning got some extra rest because the offense only had like 7 plays.

Posted by ohiobronco on 2013-12-13 11:01:43

We often hear about players stepping up and speaking out in times of difficulty. I wonder if Elway would consider talking directly to the team about what is needed right now, and the kind of attitude and mental acuity and focus that has to come in to play if they expect to reach the ultimate goal.

Or maybe he just needs to talk to the coaching staff.

Posted by carsonic on 2013-12-13 10:45:22

Body language. The team has looked either lackadaisical, uninterested, under-prepared, unmotivated, or tight the last 4-5 weeks or so. I just get the overall feeling of the team is off right now.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-12-13 10:42:33

I will add that I looked at Pro Football Reference and its SRS had the 1998 Denver Broncos rated overall at 8.9 (9.5 for offense and -0.6 for defense). This year, the defense has a much lower rating (-4.4) and the offense has a much higher rating (14.8) for a 10.4 overall rating.

Interestingly, the 1997 team -- the one that had to get to the Super Bowl from the wild card spot -- was rated higher overall than either team above at 10.7 (8.1 offense, 2.6 defense).

Take the numbers for what you will.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2013-12-13 10:41:12

Few thoughts...

-Holliday should NEVER be allowed to return punts. I said it a few weeks ago, but at this point the guy is a pure headcase and an accident waiting to happen, and I don't think he'll be on the roster next year. He has no instincts for when to field a punt and when to let it roll past, and he has the worst hands I've ever seen from a skill player.

-Irving's penalty was just horrific. That's a losing football play. I had almost completely forgotten about Irving until that penalty, and then it popped into my head... Why the hell isn't he getting PT over Lennon? He must have really regressed if he can't outperform that guy. I've always been an Irving backer, but this might be the end of the road for him.

-At this point, I'm just resigned to the fact that this defense will find a way to either commit a penalty or completely blow assignments when we really need a stop. Feels like the days of Headless Webster all over again.

-I thought Kayvon had a pretty damn good game, everything else notwithstanding. He got supremely unlucky on that first touchdown, he even redirected the ball with his arm. Allen just made a damn good play. When he gave up that long completion after that, he again had pretty tight trailing coverage, but Phyllis just put in a remarkable throw and the receiver made another great catch. He was lights out in the run game, I still have high hopes for the kid.

-Otherwise, I was dismayed at some of Fox's late down decisions, per the usual. When we were on the plus side of the field and had a 4th and 6 at some point in the 4th and punted... You just have to take that shot, field position be damned. Our D wasn't stopping anyone anyways.

Posted by aLuffabo on 2013-12-13 10:39:37

The game was painful to watch. Everything about it, from the body language of our players, to the mental errors, to the trouble executing on offense and maintaining discipline on defense spoke of one glaringly obvious thing: the team wasn't ready to play. And while I know we want to be careful about blaming Thursday Night Football (the Chargers had the same task and looked more ready), I came away from last night more upset about TnF than the SB chances of the Broncos.

Posted by Brian M. Jacobson on 2013-12-13 10:34:57

Hats off to McCoy for stating last Sunday it was about winning and not playing close, please pay attention coach Fox and Gase The defense struggles no doubt but I think some of what we saw is what happens when you mess with continuity. If Lennon is the answer just what the hell is the question! I worry that this offense just seems to play like they think that all the have to do is show up with a conservative game plan at times. We are in to week 15 and it is to late to change what you are. While we all hate when they lose but I think we can say that we would rather they lose being aggressive then that passive half ass game plan from last night.

Posted by akatom3565 on 2013-12-13 10:34:47

Didn't get to see the game last night but read enough here to know that the Broncos cost themselves the game thanks to silly mistakes adding up.

But I am reminded of the 1998 Denver Broncos team, which was rolling along nicely through the first half of the season, able to function well even when one noteworthy player on offense was out for a couple of games, because we were getting an MVP-worthy season from our best player on offense.

Then those Broncos lost to an inferior New York Giants team and seemed to be nonchalant about it -- and then got their asses handed to them by Miami a week later.

True, those Broncos did secure home field advantage in the playoffs, but my point is that the 1998 team certainly wasn't playing good ball down the stretch and didn't seem to be taking that seriously until they got a wake-up call.

For this year's team, perhaps the San Diego game is that wake-up call and it will remind the Broncos that they can no longer afford to beat themselves. Regardless of who takes the field or of the MVP season the top player on offense is having, you aren't going to get to the Super Bowl if you don't pay attention to the finer points.

We'll see if they do that. It would certainly help to get healthy players on the field, but it's more than just that and those who are stepping in need to understand their roles and to get their heads in the game.

Posted by Bob Morris on 2013-12-13 10:30:27

Kiszla's article about McCoy yesterday was stupid. Sure he was conservative last year but ultimately he was taking his direction from Fox, and we all know Fox has a love for punts and playing for overtime. I'm not sure who is worse Kiszla or Mike Klis. Hopefully Champ comes back and plays well enough to start opposite DRC through the playoffs. Then what's being asked of Webster can be scaled back a bit... he is a rookie, after all. Forget the Lenon and Bolden experiment... put Woody and Duke back in the lineup and let the defense's best guys play... with all the substituions there was clearly a lack of communication and trust amd last night.